A brand new Taco Bell Cantina from a local franchisee is making its way to Andersonville, located at 5245 N. Clark St.
The new restaurant will replace Andersonville Antiques, which is moving across the street to 5234 N. Clark Street once its lease ends at the end of January, according to Block Club Chicago. The building was bought for $1.275 million in October by franchisee Sanjeev Khatau, who owns dozens of Taco Bells, Dunkin Donuts, and Jimmy John’s in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. The exact opening date of the new taco bell is unknown, but it will serve alcohol, as most Taco Bell Cantinas do.
“We’ll move and we’ll be fine. Our customer base is loyal. They believe in shopping local,” Mark Valerio, co-owner of Andersonville Antiques, tells Black Club Chicago, frustrated with the trend of big chains moving in. “It’s happening on every block now.”
While this is exciting news for Taco Bell lovers, especially ones who like alcohol, locals are unhappy with this news. The new restaurant would join several other chains recently moving to the neighborhood, including Sweetgreen, Jeni’s Ice Cream, and Warby Parker. As a result, a new petition titled “Stop Taco Bell and other chains from taking over Andersonville” has been started by residents of the neighborhood. So far, the petition has collected more than 1,500 signatures, and are hoping to receive another 1,000 more before it is sent to Alderman Harry Osterman and Andre Vasquez, Alderman 48th Ward.
“As Chicago residents, we want to stop chains from taking over Clark St. in order to preserve and protect the economic vitality of Andersonville, its locally-owned businesses, and its unique charm,” according to the petition.
Despite the sale of the building, Andersonville Chamber of Commerce leaders said in a statement they “not support the sale of the building to Taco Bell nor Taco Bell as a tenant.” Longtime business owner Jan Baxter originally owned the building before selling it to her children, Jennifer and John. The two have had the building listed for sale for nearly two years after fearing Andersonville Antiques’ owners might retire. After several offers fell through, Khatau’s proposal was the only one remaining. It wasn’t revealed until after the purchase he had planned to turn it into a Taco Bell.
“There are times where chains join the Andersonville community, and we do our best to offer local [and] independent, first and foremost,” chamber leadership said in the statement. “We are always humbled by the fierce support of our community for localism.”
